Chap 8
Chapter 8: The Scent of Fuel
Victim: Đoàn Quốc H. - Serial arsonist and insurance fraudster
Crime: Locked in garage and burned with accelerants
Modus Operandi: Gasoline mist, ignition via timed spark
Forensics: Extensive burns, accelerant residue; door locked from inside
Fire cleans everything.
That's what he said in court.
Except he didn't say it in prison uniform - he said it in a suit. Calm voice. Soft tone. The media called him a "tragic businessman." The judge called it "a case of poor decision-making."
But I knew better.
Đoàn Quốc H. didn't burn his restaurant for the insurance money once.
He did it three times.
And the third time, a six-year-old girl in the apartment above suffocated in the smoke.
He claimed he didn't know anyone was upstairs.
But the girl's body was found clutching a stuffed rabbit, melted to her arms.
And that... I could never unsee.
HIS HABITUAL NIGHT
He operated a small used-car garage on the outskirts of Quận 12. No employees. He worked late, always alone. Occasionally hosted poker nights with shady men who parked in silence and left with envelopes.
He had another building - an abandoned wooden house registered under his cousin's name. Rumor said he was planning "one last fire" before selling everything and leaving for Đà Lạt.
I decided he would leave earlier than planned.
THE SETUP: FUEL, TRAP, SPARK
He stored fuel in his garage. Illegally. Several yellow jerry cans in a locked cabinet marked "cleaning agents."
I broke in two nights before. Pried open the cap. Replaced the gasoline in two cans with a mixture of diesel and ethanol - highly flammable, less smelly. I then perforated the rubber hoses near the ignition point of his welding torch.
The result? A near-invisible mist of vapor the moment he sparked the torch.
I left a thin strip of aluminum foil with magnesium shavings along the ceiling - disguised as heat insulation tape. A delayed ignition chain.
Then I reset the locks. Nothing out of place. Nothing suspicious.
THE EXECUTION: 9:42 PM, THURSDAY
He came back from dinner. I waited in the shadows near the old tire rack, gas mask on, watching through the rear slats.
He entered. Lit a cigarette. Tossed his jacket on the workbench.
Then he opened the cabinet.
He pulled out the wrong jerry can - the one I had tampered with.
He hooked it to the torch, like always.
The vapor began to hiss into the air - silent, colorless.
He struck the ignition.
A flash-burst filled the air, then the ceiling howled into flame. He stumbled back, screaming, arms waving.
I bolted the metal shutter door from the outside.
He hit it. Once. Twice.
Then silence.
The flames swallowed him.
THE INVESTIGATION
The fire burned for nearly 30 minutes before neighbors called it in. The building collapsed inward. By the time the firefighters arrived, all that remained was a charred metal frame and a melted steel toolbox.
They found what was left of him fused to a wall beam.
FORENSIC REPORT (Case ID: 2024-0256-H)
Victim: Đoàn Quốc H., Male, 49
Time of Death: Approx. 9:44 PM
Cause: Thermal injuries, full-body burns (100% TBSA)
Scene Findings:
Accelerant traces: Diesel, ethanol compounds present in residue
Burn pattern suggests ignition near welding torch
Door shutter found bolted from inside via metal hook
No signs of external tampering
Autopsy Notes:
Body too charred for toxicology
Dental ID confirmed identity
Conclusion:
Accidental fire caused by fuel vapor ignition; no evidence of foul play
Status: Case closed
A week later, the girl's mother lit a candle at a street corner - no words, just a soft humming of lullabies that nobody else recognized.
She never knew who did it.
And she didn't need to.
That night, I added his name.
8. Đoàn Quốc H. - Age 49 - DOD: February 22nd, 2024
Next to it, I drew a single flame - small, steady.
Because sometimes, justice doesn't knock.
It burns.
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